12 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
(July i, 1893. 
Well may old Rozelle rejoice in tbe change of 
product, and I could wish for no greater pleaBure 
today than to meet the owner of those gcod green 
fields. Albeit, there is still room for improvement in 
that quarter. 
Than the leaf fungua no greater blessing was ever 
sent upon a country. Under any circumstance, the 
over-boomed coffee was bound to collapse and the 
agony could only have been prolonged by the absence 
of the sharp decisive visitation, which has proved tlie 
tenderest of mercies. 
FINE TEA PLUCKING ON INDIAN 
GARDENS. 
Tbe cause of the litter averages obtaiocd by 
Indian garders lest seaEon, compared with tboee 
previously terured, is,- eaya the local "Timea," — gene- 
rally admitted to have been n much fiof r system of 
plnoking. It wnold »ppear from tbe folluwing cut- 
ting from the Indian Agriculturist that the aame 
is to be continued thie year : — 
" If the sangnine expeetatiooa of those inferetted 
in the tea indu<^try are realiard, the comiog season 
ia likely to prove a record one, in Oalcntta at any 
rate, whatever the; fluctuations may be in tbe Goglisb 
market. Fice pluckini;^ is, we nnderBtaud, to be ge- 
generally adhered to, ai d as the recent large ezlcn- 
eions will not come into bearing, to any appreciable 
extent, for the next tivo eeaEone, there ia leas pro- 
bability of a Klut taking place. We say tbe sales in 
the local market are likely to prove a reocrd, ad- 
visedly, for not only is competition emone remitters 
fot medium to be pretty keen, but as Mr. Lipton 
nill enter directly into the field, and the quantity 
eent to auction here will bo comparatively reatrictea, 
prices will probably rule bigb. Foaeibly, eatief&ctory news 
«8 to tbe introduction of tbe Indian article into tbe 
States m«y reach u.t aboot July from Ohicago. We 
trust the warnings of the presa will not, however, be 
diaregarded, and that, until the visible demand for 
oar teaa ia well assured, exlensiona will be kept 
within moderate bounds, and due precautiona taken 
jtg.uost floodiag tbe market with coarser out-turn 
than the samples sent to the World's Fair.'' 
TEA AND TEA DUTIES. 
TO THE EDITOR " ECHO.' ' 
StE,— In your issue of the 17th ins*, yon publish 
a report of a meetiog in Poplar in favour of tbe 
total abolition of tbe exiatiog duty on tea. If you 
will permit me — one who has worked in the whole- 
sale tea trade for over ten yeart — to state a few 
facts on this most important question you will benefit 
thouKinda who, like myself, are interested. 
, ) In the first place, by abolishing the duty the public 
.wonld not benefit by it— anyhow, to the extent it 
would ibe inteoded they should, and I am not far 
wrong in statiog that out of the laat redoc'ion made 
of 2d (twopence) per ponnd the tea-consuming put lie 
have not gained one-third of that amount. If tea is 
any cheaper row than it was three jej:rs ago it is 
simply owing to competition in the trade. The wholt- 
sale dealer or middleman has either pocketed the 
extra profit or expended it in smart nnd expensive 
labels and wrajiperf, which all help to sell his tea 
and which are do earthly use to the tea-drinker. 
Then again, bonded tea warehouses would have 
to close, which roughly speaking, wonld mean about 
ilO.OOO men thrown out of employment with no other 
[trade at their hands, to walk the streets and starve 
,'^ith the already un emplojed. 
There is another point to ol serve, if it is not taking 
; .up too mnch of jour valuable time and apace. That 
IB the country wonld be overflooded with cheap and 
poiBonous teaF, nnd as we are all too well aware there 
is enough rubbish in the shape of ten imported into 
,.4hi8 country already, and Customs inspectcrf, or 
e'tbose whose duty it would be, would have to be very 
stringent aa to the quality of the tea landed, or we 
should have some fearful difeases to dread and deal 
with in additioii to thaae we have already 
JOHORE TEA. 
A report by tbe late United States Comnl WUd- 
mai, at Singapore, giv) B aome aeeount of tbe abote 
industry in Johor*'. He tells ni:— 
Under the wise and humane rule of its oorgbteued 
prince Johore has ktpt along abieast of the mure 
Stirling Euglieb civilisation vl •Singaporp. *ad it* 
15,000 tquare miles is under as gcod cultivation aa 
any pirt of tbe Eogliafa colony »ud its 200,000 in- 
habitants as loyal and patriotie at their DeighbouiiDg 
Europeana. The Sultan, iu bia work of buildiDg up 
bis country, baa gone ODts'de the natural pioducts 
of tbe soil, and baa exp<-rimeoted with staple pro- 
ductions that are native to other aect<oue. Iu aoflee, 
pepper, and tea bis exptriments have proven to far 
succefsful that today they comprise tbe ebief oalpHt 
of 1 is little kingdom, outxtrirpii g io value tht) native 
prcdacta of the aoil— sagu, upioea, cocoa, pineapple, 
iiambier, apices, and gums. K-peciall}' iv regard Lb 
lei has the soil proved effieacioub, giving it a de- 
licious odbur and flavour that to tt>« taate of many 
CODDoieseurs placea it ahead of tbe original Aeeam 
or the now famous Ceylon. 
Ab the SultuD nill send an exhibit of Jobore tea 
to tbe Chicago Exposition, I have thought some de- 
scription might le of iiitereat. I am indebted to 
Dato (Lord) Walter F. Garland, M.I.C.B , Coamis- 
aioner of Public Works in tbe Goveromeot of the 
Snitar, for aid in tbe compilation of this report. To 
Dato Garland's untiring energy aod practical kiow- 
ledge of the tea plant Jobore is undent great obhga- 
tioDB for its suecesaful culttire. I woakl refer interes- 
ted parties to him fot any further iaformati oo that 
they may deiire. 
Tbe ilichaelstowe tea gardens in the Suitao of 
Johore'a territory faave an area of SCO acres, of vfaioh 
165 acres are under caltivation, Ic Jobore qO crop 
was picked until fire years old, but Ih's was due to 
difiiculties io startirg a new industry is a foreign 
country, Planting was commeoeed in when 
labour was difficult to find and rxptnsive to' ^^^p ; 
now, in 1892, thanks to the niae government C)f tbe 
State by its enlightened ru'er, labour is cheap 'Dd 
p entiful. Coolies in ihese gardens receive 18 cents 
in Mexican silver per diem fur every day they vtork. 
Tbe whole garden baa to be dog over three timea a 
jeir, anil with manure once in three years, ia cap- 
able of producing tin all-round average of &00 tons 
pot acre. A deecription of tbe method of prepira 
liuD, I'r.to which we need not enter, is then given. — 
L. 4" t\ Express. 
NEW TEA ROLLING MACHINES. 
In the Fatent Journal of the 26th nit. there 
are the following notices : — 
20.964. December Ist, 1891. Tea. J. Y. Johnson, 
4 < Lincoln 8 Inn Fields, Middle6ex.-( If . /a^-^cw 
Lolombo, Cei/loti.) 
Itoninff jiachmcs.—ConeistB in means for preventing 
a rise of temperature during the rolling. Air is 
introduced into, or drawn from, the space in which 
the rolling takes places by means of a fan, air 
pump, etc. In the arrangement shown, a fan driven 
trom the shaft which actuates the roUing surfaces is 
connected with perforated tubes extending along the 
sides of the casing and communicating with tbe rolling 
chamber. " 
20.965. Dec. 1, 1891. Tea. J. Y. Johnson, 17. 
Lincoln's Inn Fields, Middlesex.-( Tf. j,u:kson: 
t olomlio, Cajlon.) 
H oiling Machines. -Oriet to facilitate the circula- 
tion of the charge of tea leaf, the under surface of 
the upper plate, etc. is formed with a dome-shaped 
or convex projection. 
Coffee in Chicago.— Many of oar readers will 
feel interested in learning that the contract for 
furntBhing roasted coflFee to the World's Fair, re- 
quiring 700,COO pounds, has been awarded to Ohaee 
& Sanborn, of Montreal Rio Ntm, Aprit 4, 
